Good session with Smithfield Garden Club, clearing lots of litter from an area near The Wheatsheaf in Northern Quarter 🚮

Welcome to Tyla for the first time, joining a bumper group for a rare Wednesday night task.

Louise and Phil were in charge with Robert, landlord at the Wheatsheaf, also lending an able hand. We got bag rings, gloves, bin bags, a makeshift sharps bin, and brooms with dustpan to do a loop of the area.

Some notable collections:

• battery 🔋
• mattress 🛏
• hoover
• various clothing 👖
• lots of broken bottles, glass, cans

We also trimmed one of the communal beds and had an introduction to the amazing work the local group had done to develop the area, including some of the planted areas that were looking good 🌳🌱🍃

On a balmy June Monday evening, 5 GoodGymers collected 10ish bags of discarded litter and waste.

Stefanie, Sam, Pavel, and Ben strolled from St Peter's Square via the Bridgewater Hall canal path to Hulme Park, collecting all sorts on the way:

• bottles, cans, drinks cartons 🥫
• vapes, air pods 📢
• cardboard packaging 📦
• takeaway waste 🗑

With 4 full sacks collected, and some litter hotspots identified, we met Gaynor in Hulme park, sporting her GoodGym t-shirt for the 1st time 😀

We made a loop around Hulme park, having a go on the swing and impressed with the relative lack of litter given the warm picnic-friendly weather. We did find a suitcase, some more clothing and empty money bags in the park, plus other litter, while keeping to the shade given the heat 🥵.

Litter bags were collated, location saved, and will be reported (some again) to Keep MCR Tidy for collection.

Good stroll and litter pick in the sun 🌞

Sam and Ben met up on a nice spring evening to take an active part in the GB Spring Clean 2025.

After a jog from St Peter's Square via Vimto Park (relatively litter-free with several bins nearby), we came upon the path between Manchester Piccadilly train station and O2 Apollo on the A6. With litter pickers, bag rings, and multiple rolls of GB Spring Clean refuse sacks, we set about clearing the green spaces and footpaths of discarded litter, mostly drinks bottles, cans, takeaway waste, and the odd train/metrolink ticket.

With a gig going on at the Apollo, we had a small passing audience as we tackled a litter hotspot across the road, where we found a lot of plastic drinks containers and even the odd sign from the music/gig venue where litter had accumulated.

We collected 4 full sacks in the ~60 min session, keeping warm with a run in between.

Stefanie, Sam, and Ben braved a chilly Monday evening to run the 2.3 km each way to the foodbank drop-off location at ASDA in Hulme. Inspired by Random Acts of Kindness Day, we dropped off a range of food such as rice pudding, instant noodles, pasta sauce, and peanut butter. All part of the Holiday Hunger donation drive (details below), we hope that the small donation helps those who need it.

Manchester South Central Foodbank have a Holiday Hunger donation drive to help out those children who would normally get free school meals:

"Winter is a tough time for everyone. At our food bank we are currently supporting around 100 clients a week. With the rising price of food and bills, people in our area are struggling to choose between heating and eating. You can support people in your local area by donating to us. Last year we distributed 1033 holiday hunger food parcels to families in crisis. Our Holiday Hunger project provides a lifeline for families during the school holidays, by providing food parcels containing breakfast and lunch items and reading activities."

They also have online pages for donating items:

• an online donation site to donate food online that is delivered to their warehouse
• a monetary donation page too.

Manchester Central Foodbank also have a few locations in Manchester for accepting food donations to provide for those who need it. For other nearby foodbanks/donation points, Trussell Trust have a handy search tool.